Media Ethics

The main ethical issues are truthfulness, responsibility, fairness, and privacy.

Truthfulness impacts a journalists credibility. Saying anything untrue will like backfire on them if it is discovered. The main points of this dilemma are fabrications-stories that are completely untrue and made up, biases-which leave out truths likely to support another side, plagiarism-which is outright stealing from another person's writing, and misappropriation which can come in multiple shapes,but essentially involving portraying a group or person in a negative light. 

Responsibility - Its a journalists responsibility to verify all the details they include in a publishing, its ethical standards. Part of it is making sure that they have multiple sides of a certain story, which means contacting and talking to people. If a news organizations has responsible reporting and it generates trust in them.

Fairness - there are three main violators of this, insider friendships, conflicts of interest-when someone writes positively about an organization that they secretly work for and have not disposed(redundant), and Checkbook Journalism- paying people for interviews(Is often a slippery slope). 

Privacy - Reporting on assault, why the victim is usually not named. Reporting on children is also meant to be anonymous. Invading the privacy of a persons home or property is also against the law, however it still happens. Concerning divorce records, both sides are still needed because people exaggerate.

Misappropriation - Defined as using someone's image or story for financial gain without their permission. There is an exception for newsworthy stories.

5 philosophical principles are Aristotle's golden mean - balance, Kant's categorical imperative - make decisions on principles you wish to be universally applied, Mil's principle of utility - "the greatest happiness for the greatest number", rawls veil of ignorance - 

Fake News

A whole new problem because most of the people producing it aren't journalists and actively want to disrupt the system.

Two definitions - Intentionally false info that can proved wrong, and the second is an insult for a story a person wants to discredit. 

Motives usually come in the form of hoaxes, jokes, a deliberate attempt to mislead of misinform, and an attempt to divide people and stir up animosity by a group (or possibly a foreign power) working to undermine and destroy democracy and freedom of speech.